Navigating the complexities of project management can feel like orchestrating a symphony of tasks, deadlines, and resources. Project management software serves as the conductor, harmonizing workflows, streamlining communication, and enhancing collaboration across teams.
However, with so many options available, choosing the right project management software requires a solid understanding of essential features, pricing structures, and common challenges encountered during the procurement process. By understanding these dynamics, businesses can effectively leverage technology to drive their projects forward with efficiency and precision.
Each year, Capterra’s advisors speak with thousands of software buyers evaluating new project management software for their businesses. We've mined those conversations to provide insights that will help small businesses understand the budget requirements, feature needs, and pain points of current users to finalize the best tool for their needs.
Software buyers from the project management industry prioritize project collaboration functionality during purchase, while those using the software currently consider task management as the top priority in project management software.
Most businesses either rely on manual methods and third-party software for their day-to-day project management practices or do not have any system in place at all.
Switching to project management software is driven by the need for efficiency, functional sufficiency, and user-friendliness requirements.
The top five industries investing in project management software allocate between $39-$45 per user per month, with an overall buyer average of $43 per user per month.
Prospective buyers and current users prioritize different features
To gain insights into user preferences, we analyzed thousands of project management software reviews available on Capterra to identify the features that the users of the software consider most critical for their daily work. Interestingly, our findings revealed a discrepancy between the priorities of project management software buyers and users.
Thirty-five percent of current software users rate task management as the most essential feature in project management software, compared to buyers who are primarily looking for project collaboration functionality in a project management tool.
These findings indicate that businesses already using project management software find immense value in task management functionality. This feature enables project managers to create tasks, define their descriptions, set due dates, and categorize them according to projects, teams, or priorities. This helps break down complex projects into manageable tasks and organize them for clarity and efficiency.
Project collaboration, on the other hand, often includes chat functionality and discussion boards, allowing team members and project managers to communicate in real-time. This instant communication helps in quick decision-making, resolving issues promptly, and staying updated on project progress.
Look for PM software that lets you create risk registers, conduct risk assessments, and implement risk response plans to strengthen project resilience and minimize potential disruptions.
Current pain points for project management software buyers
When our advisors asked buyers what methods they were currently using to handle their day-to-day project management operations, here's what they found:
Around 44% of buyers use third-party tools, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and accounting software for their day-to-day project management operations.
While 22% of buyers rely on manual methods, such as a pen-and-paper approach for scheduling tasks and keeping a paper-based checklist for tracking individual tasks, some buyers use spreadsheets to centralize all information. Nearly 12% of buyers do not have any system in place.
These discussions shed light on businesses' real-life challenges with their existing methods. These included inefficiency (44%), limited functionality (35%), and lack of user-friendliness (12%).
Inefficiency: Manual methods often rely on spreadsheets, email chains, or physical documents to track tasks, project timelines, and resource allocation. Without centralized project management software, it's challenging to maintain real-time visibility into project progress and track changes effectively. This lack of visibility can lead to delays, missed deadlines, and difficulty in identifying bottlenecks or inefficiencies.
Lack of technology and limited feature options: Some third-party software may be built on outdated technology stacks or lack modern features and functionalities. This can result in slower performance, compatibility issues with other systems, and limited scalability. Users may find themselves missing essential features for task management, collaboration, reporting, or integration with other systems. This can force businesses to rely on multiple tools or manual workarounds to compensate for the lack of functionality, leading to inefficiencies, complexity, and increased costs.
Lack of user-friendliness: Third-party software that lacks user-friendly interfaces or intuitive navigation can have a steep learning curve. Users may struggle to understand how to use the software effectively, leading to frustration and resistance to adoption. A complex or cluttered interface can overwhelm users, making it difficult for them to locate features, access information, or perform basic tasks without extensive training or support.
Reasons for switching to a dedicated project management system
Compared to the existing methods used by professionals, a dedicated project management software solution offers the following benefits:
Centralized information: Project management tools provide a centralized platform for storing all project-related information, including tasks, documents, schedules, and communication. This centralization improves visibility and accessibility, ensuring that all team members have access to the latest project updates and information in one place.
Improved collaboration: Project management tools facilitate collaboration by enabling team members to work together on tasks, share documents, and communicate in real time. Features such as commenting, file sharing, and task assignment streamline communication and foster teamwork regardless of team members' locations or time zones.
Efficient task management: Task management features in project management tools help teams organize, prioritize, and track tasks throughout the project lifecycle. Users can create tasks, set deadlines, assign responsibilities, and monitor progress in a structured and efficient manner. This ensures that everyone knows what needs to be done, helping reduce confusion and preventing tasks from slipping through the cracks.
Streamlined workflows: Project management tools streamline project workflows by automating repetitive tasks, standardizing processes, and providing workflow templates. This automation saves time, reduces errors, and ensures consistency across projects, allowing teams to focus on more complex activities and strategic initiatives.
Ensure the software offers customizable task management features such as task dependencies, subtasks, recurring tasks, task priorities, and task assignments to create and manage tasks in a flexible and granular manner.
Average budget for project management software buyers across industries
The budget for purchasing project management software varies from industry to industry based on factors such as the number of users, deployment model, customization level, and required features and functionality.
However, the average industry budget for purchasing project management software was approximately $43 per user per month.
The chart below highlights the average buyer budget per month for the top five industries interested in project management software.
Use cases for project management software
Based on our advisors’ interactions, these are the top five industries using a project management tool for different use cases:
Manufacturing firms need to plan and schedule production activities efficiently to meet customer demands while optimizing resource utilization. A project management solution helps generate production schedules based on demand forecasts, inventory levels, and resource availability. It also optimizes production sequences to minimize setup times, changeovers, and idle time; assign tasks to production teams; set deadlines; and track progress in real time. Manufacturing firms usually need a project management tool that can integrate with inventory management systems, providing real-time visibility into inventory levels and facilitating timely procurement and production planning.
Management consulting firms often require project management software to efficiently manage client engagements, internal projects, and collaboration among team members. A project management tool can store client contact information, communication history, and engagement details. It can also help develop project plans outlining deliverables, milestones, timelines, and resource requirements. Such firms primarily need a tool that helps track billable hours and expenses incurred during the engagement to ensure accurate client billing and project profitability.
Software/technology companies often rely heavily on project management software to coordinate complex development projects, manage resources efficiently, and deliver high-quality products on time. A project management tool can help capture and document project requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria. It can also help plan software development iterations (sprints) if the selected software supports agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban, leveraging features such as backlog management and sprint planning.
Engineering projects often involve complex processes, interdisciplinary collaboration, and meticulous planning. Project management software can streamline these activities, improve communication, and ensure project success. The software can help develop a detailed project plan outlining engineering phases, milestones, and critical paths. It can also help assign labor, equipment, and materials to engineering activities based on project requirements and availability. Engineering firms primarily require a tool that helps implement quality control measures to ensure materials and workmanship meet prescribed standards and specifications.
Non-profit organizations often manage various projects and initiatives aimed at serving their missions, engaging stakeholders, and achieving social impact. The project management software can help them identify key stakeholders, including community members, partners, volunteers, and donors, and map their roles and responsibilities in the project. It can also enable campaign managers to break down project tasks into actionable steps, assign responsibilities to team members or volunteers, and set deadlines for task completion. Non-profit organizations would require a basic project management solution with task and volunteer management features, along with project planning functionality.
More resources for your software search
Whether you’re looking to buy new project management software or replace your existing tool, here are some additional resources to aid your software search:
Start with our interactive project management software directory to compare hundreds of products, filter your search by specific features, and read comprehensive reviews from SMB leaders.
Check out top-rated project management software based on user ratings and popularity in Capterra Shortlist.
Dive into our list of top-rated free project management tools to try a free option before making a purchase.
Read our software implementation tips to maximize your chances of success.
Review our project management software pricing guide to compare tools with the highest value-for-money and functionality ratings.
